The present invention relates to control systems for ice dispensers, and in particular to an improved control system for an ice dispenser which maintains an icemaker thereof continuously operative whenever an ice storage hopper is less than completely full.
In the food and beverage service industries it is desirable to provide means for expeditiously dispensing a quantity of ice, for example into a glass to facilitate service of ice water and cold beverages to customers. Conventionally the means comprises an ice dispenser, which for commercial application usually includes a hopper for storing a quantity of crushed, cracked, flaked or cubed ice, an icemaker for manufacturing ice for the hopper, a thermostat on the hopper in proximity to the point of entry of ice for sensing the level of ice, and an agitator for the mass of ice to prevent congealing or agglomeration in order to maintain the ice particles in discrete free flowing from. An opening at the bottom of the hopper enables ice to be removed from the hopper, for example by a dispensing unit which automatically provides a measured quantity of ice.
The thermostat is positioned at the point of entrance of ice into the hopper to prevent overfilling, and therefore ice tends to build up around the thermostat. As a result, ice may trip the thermostat when the hopper is only partially full. In conventional control schemes, actuation of the thermostat stops the icemaker and operates the agitator for a timed period to break up and level the mass of ice. If the ice drops away from the thermostat upon agitation, the icemaker is restarted and the cycle is repeated. Ordinarily, in bringing the hopper to a completely full condition the agitator and icemaker are cycled several times before the level of the mass of ice is high enough for ice to remain about the thermostat, whereafter the icemaker remains off until sufficient ice has been dispensed to again drop its level to below the thermostat. A disadvantage of such conventional control schemes is that the icemaker is cycled through a large number of on-off cycles in maintaining the hopper full, so that the compressor and other components thereof are subjected to increased wear and a decreased operating life and reliability.